Its not even Halloween yet!!!

As we all know Christmas comes earlier every year, and normally I am one of the many people who complain about the Christmas trees showing up in stores before trick or treating even starts. However that being said I do start my Christmas crafting very early especially since most of my crafts are ornaments for my tree. I usually like to use things I already have or recycle things into my ornaments. In years past I have made great use of old Christmas cards when making ornaments mainly because I just couldn't stand having such beautiful images end up in the trash or simply hung from a holder. I will be making a few more closer to the holidays and putting up a tutorial for the two methods I have used in the past. I am also currently working on a garland made from some pesky vines growing along my fence line. I will most defiantly be posting that tutorial soon! Today however I will be discussing how to make use of rubber stamps for simple Christmas ornaments.

My mother in law used to work for a national thrift store chain that also dabbled in charity work, (I am not mentioning the name because I am not sure of the legal ramifications, also they did my mother in law wrong so I simply don't like the company). She would always bring me craft supplies that would come in and so I ended up with some beautiful Christmas themed rubber stamps. I decided to make some ornaments to utilize the gorgeous designs on them, and so here is my method to make ornaments.

 First you need to ink up the stamps and press them down on a sturdy piece of card board, (wood could also work well). I used the back of a paper pad but you could also use the cardboard from a case of soda or beer, anything sturdy will work so be creative and use something that might otherwise be thrown away. Once the ink is dry use crayons, colored pencils, paint, or markers to color in the designs.

With the color in place you may want to embellish your design further or leave it as is. Add glitter as I did here or you can add 3 dimensional features like beads or ribbon. Once you have your design exactly to your taste its time to back it with something. I simply used scrapbook paper but scraps of wrapping paper would be wonderful to use as a backing, I just didn't have any at the time. Again use what you have and be creative.

Now it is time to finish your ornament. I like to frame my design, but you could simply leave the design as is and add a hanger. I have used a couple different methods for my ornaments but almost all of them have a mat. I simply made the mats as I would for a picture in a scrap book. I actually made my mats but you can find pre made ones in most craft stores. Its best to add the hanger in this step as to hide the ends in the mat, or you can use a whole punch to create a place to add your hanger. The possibilities are endless really and I used a few different methods.

The pics may be fuzzy but I will be posting more when I actually put up my tree closer to the holidays so you can see the ornaments in action. So there you have it from rubber stamp to pretty tree adornment. So go and try it your self and just remember......be creative, and use things you already have!